2018 NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field National Championships (Day 1 Results)

PITTSBURG, Kan. – For the second consecutive season, Michane Ricketts began by hoisting an All-American long jump trophy on the first day of the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field National Championships. In addition to Rickett's success, the women's Distance Medley Relay finished as All-Americans and Mobolae Ajomale led all sprinters through the 60m and 200m prelims to set him up for a dual title defense on Saturday.

After taking third place in the long jump at last year's championships, Ricketts found himself in similar territory inside Pitt State's Robert W. Plaster Center on Friday. He qualified through to the finals with the second-farthest jump of the prelims, a 24-11 (7.59m) mark that came on his first attempt. The Clarendon, Jamaica native's first jump of the finals ended up being his best as he went 25-0.75 (7.64m) to outlast five others for fourth overall.

"Michane has worked extremely hard this year and he earns every accolade he receives," said assistant coach Akil Gipson. "His performance was the most consistent of his career and that's all you can ask for. He competed hard and showed up when it counted. I'm very proud of how he has competed this year."

The women's DMR posted the third-fastest time in program history (11:47.22) as Beatriz Martinez Mercado, Schae Graham, Ashley Brown, and Swann Phelippeau finished the first day of action by taking eighth of 13 teams. ART U would better ninth-place Alaska Anchorage by more than eight seconds.

Getting a chance to compete against the best 60m sprinters Division II has to offer, Ajomale had no problem qualifying through Friday's prelims. He bolted to a season-best 6.60, bettering Tiffin's Jonte Baker by 0.02 for the fastest time of 16 challengers thus far. The Canadian bronze medalist would return in the 200m prelims where he continued to cruise, posting a 20.98 for the lowest mark out of the 20-man field once again. Ajomale will have a chance to add a fifth and/or sixth national title to his resume tomorrow.

It was a day of heart-breaking narrow misses for Marion Presigny who contested the long jump and 60m hurdles. After a 19-4.75 (5.91m) on her third jump had her sixth overall heading into the finals, she found herself eighth of nine and clinging to the last All-American position with the competitors' last attempts due. Presigny would not improve her mark while St. Augustine's Magaly Tshipopo did move up to snag an All-American spot and put Presigny on the outside looking in.

In the 60mH, Presigny would drop a new lifetime best of 8.5437, but it ended up being 0.002 shy of Shippensburg's Danielle Scriemammano's 8.5435 which gave the latter the eighth spot and qualification to Saturday's final. Ranked 15th coming into the season finale, Presigny's jump to ninth was a significant one.

Following a fast first heat, the men's mile prelims saw Victor Moreau run a 4:11.16 in the second heat. The time would have him just 0.03 off of Colorado Christian's Evan Verbal (4:11.13), the third and final automatic qualifier from the heat, and 11th out of 16 competitors in the event.

Although Graham would drop under 56.00 in the prelims of the 400m, she would continue the theme of fractions of a second separating Academy of Art from qualification. Her time of 55.80 had her 10th overall and 0.07 out of ninth-place Texas A&M-Commerce's Kamryn McKee.

The women's 800m did not allow anyone beyond a 2:10.79 (Grand Valley State's Rachael Walters) to qualify for Saturday's final and thus Martinez Mercado ended up on the outside with a 2:13.24. She would take 17th overall.

In a men's 5000m loaded with talent, Gatien Airiau had a shot at All-American honors, sitting in eighth-place with 1800m left. Unfortunately, he would drop to 14th overall by the race's conclusion, offering a 14:44.33 across the finish line.

Closing the day, the men's Distance Medley Relay saw the team of Rabah Houali, Michael Houston, Joshua Browne, and Moreau claim 12th overall with a time of 10:26.52.

Championship Saturday will feature Rian Young-Werner in the women's triple jump at 3:30 p.m. CT (1:30 p.m. PT), Ajomale in the men's 60m at 5:20 p.m. CT (3:20 p.m. PT) and the 200m at 6:45 p.m. CT (4:45 p.m. PT), Phelippeau in the women's 3000m at 7:25 p.m. CT (5:05 p.m. PT), and the men's and women's 4x400m relays at 7:45 p.m. CT (5:45 p.m. PT) and 8 p.m. CT (6 p.m. PT).